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The American Valkyrie XB-70 bomber can be said to be an epoch-making aircraft. It can fly a 250-ton bomber at three times the speed of sound like the Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft, and can carry 14 atomic bombs . Many people may I don't know much about the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber, and I haven't even heard of it. It's not surprising that it was forgotten by future generations. After all, only two of this bomber were developed, because this bomber did not enter service in the end.
However, this did not bury the legendary and short life of the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber. The XB-70 "Valkyrie" bomber, also known as the "Valkyrie", is the fastest flying strategic bomber in human history. Among every aircraft that can fly to Mach 3, the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber is the largest, with a volume and weight far exceeding that of other aircraft.
The demand for the development of the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber originated in the 1950s. At that time, the U.S. Air Force had a large number of bombers, including B-36, B-47 and B-52, but the U.S. Air Force did not have any experience with these bombers. I am not very satisfied, mainly because these bombers fly too slowly. For example, the performance of the B-52 bomber is quite amazing in every aspect, but its flying speed is only Mach 0.7. It is obviously difficult to escape the Soviet jets at such a flying speed. Fighter interception.
Therefore, the United States decided to develop a strategic bomber with supersonic speed. Its flying height and speed far exceed that of jet fighters of the same generation. The final result was the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber.
Even now, the performance indicators and specific design of the "Valkyrie" bomber are very avant-garde and science fiction. The "Valkyrie" bomber has a canard-type design with a huge swept back nose, a slender front fuselage, and a The parallel engine layout and dual full-motion vertical tail give the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber an advanced science fiction feel that is far ahead of its time.
The "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber was a dream technology in the 1960s. It was first publicly displayed in 1964 and conducted its first test flight on September 21 of the same year. In subsequent test flights, it set a record at an altitude of 21,500 meters. In 1966, the "Valkyrie" XB-70 No. 2 aircraft achieved the coveted supersonic cruise flight speed of Mach 3 for the first time. At this point, the development work of the entire plan came to an end, and the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber had Initial service capability.
Unfortunately, subsequent developments have exceeded everyone's expectations. The rapid development of the Soviet surface-to-air missile and the development of the high-altitude and high-speed interceptor . These weapons have posed a very big threat to high-altitude and high-speed strategic bombers. In a short period of time, the bomber's survival mode changed from high-altitude and high-speed to and low-altitude penetration . The "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber was obviously unable to adapt to such a huge change.
However, during an over-flight, the No. 2 aircraft, which was very important to the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber plan, accidentally collided, which dealt a heavy blow to the "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber plan. A series of changes finally made the The vigorous "Valkyrie" XB-70 bomber quietly dismounted after setting multiple world records, and the ending attracted endless boos.
Because the "Valkyrie" bomber used all the advanced aviation technology available in the world in the 1960s, its cost also reached $750 million, which is a breathtaking number. Therefore, the most advanced F-4 Phantom fighter jet at that time was only US$2.6 million, and the cost of the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the United States in 1961 was only US$450 million. In other words, the two "Valkyrie" XBs built by the United States at that time -70 bombers, enough to allow the US Navy to build three "Enterprise" nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
